like we're made of starlight
by perfectlyrose
Summary: John Smith, Duke of Gallifrey, in no way wants to be at a ball, nor does he want to dance with anyone. Through a meddling friend's interference he ends up leading one Rose Tyler out onto the dance floor and he finds his night improving from there. (Nine/Rose Regency AU)


for elizahamiltonwrites on tumblr who requested a Regency AU with a reluctunt/grumpy Nine who ended up being impressed by one Rose Tyler, also a side of matchmaking Jack. Hope you like this, darling!

also please keep in mind that I am not super well versed in Regency things and did minimal research so please do not tear apart any inaccuracies. Just roll with the fact that it's an AU.

* * *

John leaned up against one of the columns on the edge of the ballroom, surveying the mass of people milling about. He'd just managed to escape a gaggle of marriage-minded mothers attempting to push their daughters at him and his already less than stellar mood was darkening.

He shouldn't have let Jack guilt him into coming to this excruciating, extended torture session known as a ball. It didn't matter that his title and his bachelor status made him one of the most eligible men in London, he hated these damn events. The required clothes were uncomfortable, the conversations were stilted and false, and the mothers with daughters of a marriageable age always eyed him up like he was playing the prey to their pack of hyenas.

John had only been there for an hour and he was already more than ready to leave. He had been trapped into two dances so far and the little bit of conversation that he'd been forced to have with the girls who were his partners had been excruciatingly vapid. He figured he had about another two hours before he could make his escape without being unpardonably rude.

If he kept scowling at the dance floor and anyone who approached him during those two hours so he didn't have to talk to anyone, that was his prerogative as a duke.

Thirty more minutes and another dance had gone by when John spotted Jack heading his direction, a blonde girl in a deep rose colored gown in tow. His scowl deepened and he tried to shake his head at his supposed friend but received an irreverent grin in return.

"John! I have a friend I'd like you to meet," Jack called as soon as he was within earshot in the noisy ballroom.

John had to resist rolling his eyes. "Friend" could mean a variety of different things when it came to Jack.

The girl's cheeks had darkened to almost match her dress at Jack's rather improper greeting but a smirk was playing around the corners of her lips like she was more amused than embarrassed. The assembled company generally gave the American a lot of leeway regarding his behavior since he was otherwise charming and entertaining.

"Captain, you are going to have to introduce me to your friend properly or my mother is never going to let me continue avoiding Lord Van Statten," Rose commented, nudging Jack in the side with an elbow.

"Right." Jack indicated John with a flourish. "Lady Rose Tyler may I introduce to you my very dear friend, John Smith, Duke of Gallifrey."

Rose curtsied as John sketched a bow out of courtesy's sake alone. He was going to have a talk with Jack later about ambushing him with women at balls.

"It's an honor to meet you, your grace." Rose said, eyes twinkling up at him and hinting at a lively sense of humor. "I must admit that without Captain Harkness accompanying me over here I would have been almost frightened to approach you. Your expression is quite forbidding."

"He does that on purpose," Jack commented in a stage whisper.

"Why are you over here?" John blurted out, not wanting to dance around the subject anymore.

"Because you're her dance partner for the next set," Jack answered, grinning at the shocked look on his friend's face.

"Like hell I am," he exclaimed before remembering where he was and who was in his present company. "Pardon my language, Lady Rose, but I don't remember agreeing to dance with you."

"You haven't," she said breezily. She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him. "Jack concocted a story for my mother that you were to be my next dance partner so that I wouldn't have to dance with Lord Van Statten. She couldn't argue since you're a duke and you've barely danced with anyone tonight so she figured it would make me look more desirable if I managed a dance with you."

"And if I refuse?" John asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rose's eyes flickered down to the way the fabric of his coat strained across his shoulders before darting back up to meet his eyes once more. "Then I'll be left to the mercy of Van Statten who is the most odious man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting and has a bad habit of letting his hands wander whenever he gets close enough to touch."

John heaved out a sigh and offered his arm as the current song being played drew to a close. "Let's go dance then," he said, voice devoid of emotion as he ignored Jack's triumphant smile.

Rose beamed at him and took the offered arm and let him lead her to the dance floor where everyone was lining up for the next dance. He took his place across from her and just hoped that this dance would be one of the ones where there was little opportunity for idle chatter.

As they waited for the music to begin again, he couldn't help the fleeting thought that at least this time the dance partner that had been foisted upon him was quite attractive. The gown she was wearing brought out the flush of her cheeks and set her hair off to advantage. Her smile, the one she was sending him right at that moment, was bright and nothing like the subdued, demure ones he'd grown accustomed to seeing at these gatherings.

The first strains of the dance began and he watched as Rose curtsied right on cue. They were near the top of the dance formation so it wasn't long before they were back in conversational range as they made their way to the bottom of the formation.

"I know you don't want to be dancing but you could work on looking less dour," Rose commented.

"Now why would I want to do that?"

"So you don't scare your dance partners half to death?" She ventured with a small smile. "I'd be surprised if any of them managed to speak a word to you with you scowling at them like that."

John didn't have a chance to comment before they parted back to their separate lines. He watched Rose as they moved through the patterns of the dance. She sparkled with life and he wasn't sure how he hadn't seen her before Jack brought her over. He still didn't want to be dancing but at least she was more tolerable than his other partners had been.

"Maybe it was my intention to encourage my dance partners not to talk," he said as soon as they met in the center of the dance once more.

"Seems silly to spend half an hour in the company of someone without speaking."

"No more silly than the conversations they are capable of holding," he retorted.

Rose sighed. "You really can't fault my contemporaries too much. We're taught to only engage in meaningless small talk at these things."

Once again, he couldn't answer before they were separated.

"If you're taught to only engage in small talk, why are you actually talking to me?" John asked, curiosity piqued by this woman and her insistence on carrying a conversation through a dance.

Rose looked up at him, mischievous smirk firmly in place. "I've never been good at listening to what I should do."

John chuckled, deep and rumbling, prompting a full grin from his partner. "Neither have I."

"Good job on Jack for introducing us two rebels then," she said with a wink before twirling away from him at the bottom of the line.

Good job on Jack indeed, he thought.

They took a few more turns through the dances, conversation slipping into how they knew Jack and the terrible attempts at conversations they'd both had earlier in the night. By the time the dance came to a close and John deposited Rose on the edge of the dance floor with a bow, he felt rather intoxicated by her whiskey colored eyes and champagne-bubble laugh.

He asked if he could take her on a turn around the room but before the yes that he could see forming on her lips could come out, another man, a boy really, came and swept her away for the next dance claiming that her mother had promised it to him.

Rose's eyes flashed apology at him over her shoulder as she was led away.

John spent the entirety of the set glaring daggers at her dance partner from the edge of the room. He was satisfied that his threat was recognized when the boy stumbled a few times during the dance.

"You know, if you don't stop trying to dismember that boy with your eyes, someone might think you were interested in a Miss Tyler," Jack said. His smile grew when John jumped, not having heard him approach.

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer," he answered gruffly, still not taking his eyes off of the dance.

Jack shook his head. That in and of itself was an answer. If there was no interest, John would have flat out said so. He grinned as he slipped off to go secure a partner for the next dance, knowing that he'd set things in motion for two of his favorite people to find happiness - hopefully with each other.

John was there when Rose was freed from her dance and asked again if she would like to take a turn around the room. This time her agreement was vocalized and she gladly took his arm.

They talked and laughed and after another dance they ended up out on the veranda to cool off and escape, aware that the whole ballroom had started buzzing about the two of them as soon as John led her out for their second dance - a clear sign of interest from a non-related dance partner.

John and Rose stayed in the cool night air until Rose's mother called her back inside so they could take their leave from the ball.

John was reluctant to lose her company, to lose the way he felt light and full and happy around her, but he took her hand and raised it to his lips to bid her goodbye.

She was almost to the door when he called her name. Rose turned immediately, hopeful look on her face. He asked if it was alright if he called on her soon and was rewarded with a grin brighter than the sun and an immediate yes.

After that she disappeared in a flash of pink and John was left smiling at empty air. He was going to have to thank Jack for introducing the two of them, he thought idly as he pushed his way back into the ballroom. He had the distinct feeling that now that he knew Rose and had the briefest taste of what it was like to have her in his life, he was never going to want to let her go.

Six months later, after a romance that the whole ton was talking about, banns were posted announcing the upcoming wedding between the Duke of Gallifrey and Lady Rose Tyler.


End file.
